A very wide vareity of new movies to pick from this week….

New at Theaters (Friday): “The Box”, “A Christmas Carol” (3D & IMAX), “The Fourth Kind”, “The Men Who Stare At Goats”, “More Than A Game” (limited), “Big Fan” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon), “September Issue” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon), “No Impact Man” (UICA in Grand Rapids), “The Way We Get By” (UICA in Grand Rapids)

Limited Release in Grand Rapids market: 
“More Than A Game” (Celebration! North),
“Big Fan” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon),
“September Issue” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon),
“No Impact Man” (UICA in Grand Rapids),
“The Way We Get By” (UICA in Grand Rapids)

Moving to Woodland Mall this week ($4.00 shows): “Whip It”, “Inglorious Basterds”, “Capitalism: A Love Story”, “Shorts”, “Sorority Row”

Best Bet(s): I have not seen any of the new movies in wide release YET…  but at least two of the four are getting moderate-to-average reviews (”A Christmas Carol” and “Men Who Stare at Goats”). “Big Fan” is getting some good response and it plays in Muskegon for a week and then will be at the UICA on 11/20.   And for $4.00, the filmed in Michigan comedy-drama “Whip It”  is more than worth the price of admission… so is “500 Days of Summer”… go see that if you haven’t already for gosh sakes!

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New this Week on DVD: “Aliens in the Attic”, “The Answer Man”, “Food, Inc.”, “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra”, “I Love You Beth Cooper”,  “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″, “Command Performance”

Best Bets: The Waterfront Film Festival alum “The Answer Man” is a fun laugh out loud romantic comedy starring Michigan native Jeff Daniels… the thriller remake “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ that I liked but many others weren’t impressed by… and if you were a fan of the 1980s “G.I. Joe” cartoons or like over-the-top action movies  “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra” is for you (I liked it for what it was).   You’re on your own for: “Food, Inc.” an eye-opening documentary, “Aliens in the Attic” is a family adventure, fans of Hayden Pannetiere (”Heroes”) might like “I Love You Beth Cooper” which actually got some good reviews, and fans of Dolph Lundgren might consider “Command Performance”.

Next Week at Theaters: “2012″, “Pirate Radio”, “Act of God” (UICA in Grand Rapids), “World’s Greatest Dad” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon)

11/25 – “A Serious Man” (limited)

Next Week on DVD: “Up”, “The Accidental Husband”, “The Merry Gentleman”, “Spread”, “The Ugly Truth”, “Watchmen” (Director’s cut)

MY REVIEWS OF OTHER MOVIES CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THEATERS OR AVAILABLE TO RENT/BUY:  (more…)

Sorry, this is one day late…

New this Week on DVD: “Aliens in the Attic”, “The Answer Man”, “Food, Inc.”, “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra”, “I Love You Beth Cooper”,  “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″, “Command Performance”

Best Bets: The Waterfront Film Festival alum “The Answer Man” is a fun laugh out loud romantic comedy starring Michigan native Jeff Daniels… the thriller remake “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ that I liked but many others weren’t impressed by… and if you were a fan of the 1980s “G.I. Joe” cartoons or like over-the-top action movies  “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra” is for you (I liked it for what it was).   You’re on your own for: “Food, Inc.” an eye-opening documentary, “Aliens in the Attic” is a family adventure, fans of Hayden Pannetiere (”Heroes”) might like “I Love You Beth Cooper” chich actually got seom good reviews, and fans of Dolph Lundgren might consider “Command Performance”.

Next Week on DVD: “Up”, “The Accidental Husband”, “The Merry Gentleman”, “Spread”, “The Ugly Truth”, “Watchmen” (Director’s cut)

MY REVIEWS OF OTHER MOVIES CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THEATERS OR AVAILABLE TO RENT/BUY:  (more…)

Guinea Pigs of “G-Force” beat wizards of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” for weekend box office

Wow america… apparently my illness spilled over the theaters… Disney’s “G-Force” beat ”Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” in the wizard’s 2nd weekend… I have to say, I didn’t see that coming.  But, considering how much money “Potter” made in opening week, there was nobody left to see it over the weekend.   New movies “The Ugly Truth” and “Orphan” were 3rd and 4th respectively.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “G-Force” – $32.15 million (1st week)

2. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” – $30.00 million ($221.8 million total)
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 61% from last week)

3. “The Ugly Truth” – $27.00 million (1st week)

4. “Orphan” – $12.77 million (1st week)

5. “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” – $8.20 million
(4th week, was #2 last week, lost 53% from last week)

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“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” wins weekend

No surprise at all… except maybe how much it made… “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” beat last week’s number one “Bruno” and previous #1’s “Ice Age 3″ and  “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”.

“Half-Blood Prince”, the 6th Potter movie becomes the franchise’s highest grossing movie in its first 5 days with more than $159 million thanks in part to the huge $58 million dollar opening day boost.  Overall, the entire box office was up 15% and ranks as the 7th biggest weekend so far this year.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” – $79.48 million  (1st week)

2. “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” – $17.70 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 36% from last week)

3. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” - $13.75 million ($363.87 million total)
(4th week, was #3 last week, lost 43% from last week)

4. “Bruno” – $8.37 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 73% from last week)

5. “The Hangover” - $8.32 million ($235.88 million total)
(7th week, was #6 last week, lost 16% from last week)

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“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” stays just ahead of “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”

“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” beat “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” on its opening day last Wednesday, but for the weekend it came up a little short of upsetting last week’s number one. The holiday weekend’s other new movie “Public Enemies” was a strong 3rd.

“Transformers 2″ is quickly closing in on $300 million in just 12 days.  Overall, the entire box office was down 20% from last weekend, but its hard tocompare to the opening weekend of a blockbuster and a holiday weekend that keeps many people out of theaters.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” - $42.32 million ($293.35 million total)
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 61% from last week)

2. “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” – $41.69 million (1st week)

3. “Public Enemies” – $25.27 million (1st week)

4. “The Proposal”  – $12.86 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 31% from last week)

5. “The Hangover” - $11.27 million ($205.04 million total)
(5th week, was #3 last week, lost 34% of audience from last week)

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“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” beats everyone at the weekend box office

There wasn’t really any doubt which movie would be number one during the weekend… it was just a matter of by how much… “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” pulled in $112 million for the weekend and $201 million since its Wednesday opening. “Transformers 2″ set a new high for a June weekend, its also the highest-grossing non-holiday, highest grossing non-Friday opening weekend and becomes the seventh opening weekend overall.   “The Dark Knight” is still the biggest 5-day opening all time ($203.8 million).

“Transformers 2″ boosted the entire box office 35% more than last weekend and at $194.97 million, it marks the biggest weekend of the year.  “Up” has passed “Star Trek” as the biggest movie of 2009 with $250 million so far.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” - $112.00 million ($201 million total) (1st week)

2. “The Proposal”  – $18.47 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 45% from last week)

3. “The Hangover” - $17.22 million
(4th week, was #2 last week, lost 36% of audience from last week)

4. “Up” – $13.05 million  ($250 million total)
(5th week, was #3 last week, lost 45% from last week)

5. “My Sister’s Keeper” – $12.03 million (1st week)

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“The Proposal” beats Hangover” and ”Up” at the weekend box office

Audiences said yes to Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds’ “The Proposal”… the romantic comedy easily beat “The Hangover” and “Up”… “Year One” opened in 4th place, but is likely to start dropping quickly.

“Star Trek” is still the best holdover movie, losing the least of its audience (13.8%) and adding to its overall total, now at $239 millon.   The weekend’s offerings actually propped up the box office – up almost 7% from last week, making $140.6 million, a total that will easily be surpassed next weekend as “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” opens on Wednesday.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “The Proposal”  – $34.11 million (1st week)

2. “The Hangover” - $26.86 million
(3rd week, was #1 last week, lost 18% of audience from last week)

3. “Up” – $21.34 million  ($224.11 million total)
(4th week, was #2 last week, lost 31% from last week)

4. “Year One” - $20.20 million (1st week)

5. “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ - $11.30 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 52% from last week)

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“Hangover” and ”Up” still tops at the weekend box office

The word of mouth and solid reviews (read mine) for “The Hangover” is keeping the buzz going for the R-rated comedy, with “Up” close behind, new movies “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ and “Imagine That” were 3rd and 6th respectively.

“Star Trek” dropped just two spots with the weekend’s two new movies, still losing just 33% of its audience and adding to its overall total, now at $231 millon.   But the weekend box office was down 17% from last week, making $131.97 million, the 2nd lowest total in the 7 weeks of the summer season so far.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “The Hangover” - $32.79 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 27% of audience from last week)

2. “Up” – $30.76 million  ($187.43 million total)
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 30% from last week)

3. “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ - $23.37 million (1st week)

4. “Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian” – $9.62 million  ($143.46 million total)
(4th week, was #4 last week, lost 34% from last week)

5. “Land of the Lost” – $8.99 million
(2nd week, as #3 last week, lost 52% from last week)

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New at Theaters (Friday): “Imagine That”, “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″, “The Brothers Bloom” (limited release at Celebration! North and Celebration! Cinema Crossroads in Grand Rapids and Cinema Carousel in Muskegon)

Best Bet(s): “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ (read my review) is an intense action thriller, Deznel Washington and John Travolta are very good!!  “Imagine That” (read my review) is a charming family comedy, but you might want to wait to rent it.  ”The Brothers Bloom” finally comes to Grand Rapids market after months of release date changes before it opened in limited release May 22nd.

New on DVD (Tuesday): “Crossing Over”, “Fired Up”, “Gran Torino”, “The International”, “Spinning Into Butter”

Best Bet(s): If you’re like me and embarrased to say you haven’t yet scene the post-incentives filmed in Michigan movie with the most attention (”Gran Torino”)… now is your time to see Clint Eastwood and the Detroit area locales.  I actually haven’t seen any of the other movies eother, but “The International” looks like a good action thriller and while Harrison Ford’s U.S.-Mexican border drama “Crossing Over” looks good, it got some mixed reviews.

 CLICK HERE TO FIND A MOVIE SHOWTIME

Next Week at Theaters: “The Proposal”, “Year One”, “Away We Go” (limited release), “Moon” (limited release)

Next Week on DVD: “Friday the 13th” (2009), “Morning Light”, “Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail”, “The Cell 2″

MY REVIEWS OF OTHER MOVIES CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THEATERS OR AVAILABLE TO RENT/BUY: 

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Movies are meant to be an entertaining escape right?    Well, unless you are a subway/transportation worker, police officer, or criminal… “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ fits the bill, even if its not great… its good… although it is a remake of the 1974 movie “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three”.

This updated and modernized high-tech version, “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ is an intense thrill ride.. Denzel Washington and John Travolta are great adversaries.

I hate to keep repeating this, but its still worth saying: this movie is rated “R” for a reason… but I continue to see parents bringing babies and very young kids to these movies.  FYI…. I always include the ratings (and the reason for the rating) below.

Let’s cut to the chase, this movie isn’t going to win any main category Oscars… but for what it is: an action thriller… its good.

Now some will say that Denzel is playing a character we’ve seen him play before… an awkward anti-hero who is forced to save the day “Deja Vu” (2006) and “John Q” (2002)… and John Travolta is playing that slightly over-the-top maniacal villain he’s played before “The Punisher” (2004), ”Swordfish” (2001), “Face/Off” (1997)… but for me, that’s okay, because they are really good at it and it makes it easier o route for and against their characters.

The movie doesn’t take long to get into the main plot, the slick opening title sequence establishes the main characters and its quick camera movements and rough cuts establish the busy chaos of the subway and the work of a control center dispatcher.

The movie successfully establishes the characters, along with the scene, the feel and the very different parallels of the two opposing characters and the little worlds they are in…. then it slowly twists your perspective and adds more layers to the plot, characters, and their situations…. to keep you guessing before bringing the movie to its conclusion.

In this tense thriller, there is also some much-needed comic relief from James Gandolfini (playing the Mayor), and Washington and Travolta deliver some lines that bring a smile to your face.

“The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ is gritty and edgy, its realistic and keeps the audience busy with multiple issues going on at the same time with the good guys, the bad guys, and the hostages.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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